RACE DAY!

Saturday: RACE!

Friday night my mom and brother were in town. They toured the wharf while i finished work. Then we headed back to berkeley for a quick tour of campus and met Chris and Brandon at an ethiopian place for dinner. it was my first time having that type of cuisine... so good! the favors were super intense. we finished dinner and then headed down to stanford. a little confusing getting there, but we got out race packets and no tshirts this year. instead, they handed out bike socks! i was totally okay with that. we went home, i packed up for the 5am wake up call and was in bed by 11pm.

Brandon and Chris were outside ready at 530 ... we strapped the bike to the car and took off. the drive took about 40-50 minutes. not too bad. the transition closed at 715, so we had plenty of time to setup our area. after that, we did a quick jog to the swim start and back, i made some minor adjustments to transition item placements and suited up.

we were in the third wave and our start was at about 750am ... the swim was in harbor in the port of redwood city. it was nice, calm and flat, prolly just what i need for my first face in 8 years! i had my new wetsuit that was designed for swimming, and was much easier on my shoulders then my surfing wetsuit. in case anyone is wondering, in early march, in northern california -- THE WATER IS COLD. wetsuit or not, my hands, feet and head were cold! but once the race started i was fine.

i was the first one out of the water for the three of us; however, the last one out of the transition area. that wasnt great, but i learned what i needed to do better and what i need to figure out (how to put socks on more efficiently, if at all??) the bike went okay, i think i hurt my knees in hot yoga last week, because they were sore on the ride. i felt like couldnt get any speed on bike and there was definitently some wind. but it went well. i headed back to T2 after the third bike loop. the transition was much, much faster. my feet were still numb! and when i went to run, i noticed that forgot to change my shoes ... oh wait ... my feet were just numb and my shoes were on correctly! the run went smooth, i timed my split at 23m30 seconds. which for my first race, i was happy with. id like to see that come done by 3 minutes and i that thats realistic as i start running more.

overall, i had a great experience, my time was only off by 2 minutes from what i predicted, which im okay with. i wasted so much time in T1, that 2 minutes was wasted there for sure. i have a lot of room to improve, but i had a lot of fun at the race. this week, i hope to plan out my new training schedule and add some new races to my itinerary.

rest days!

I just enjoyed 3 quality rest days! Oh my did it feel good .. actually I started getting restless yesterday, I could tell that my body wasnt happy with my caloric consumption paired with my seditary behavoir. By the time I was free to get to the pool last night, it was 8pm and I was exhausted, and I just wanted to go home and get in bed ... mission accomplished, in bed by 930!

Lets get back to Saturday ...

7.1 mile run, 1h6min
1500 yard swim
FOAM ROLLER!

woke up at 630am saturday to get into the city for the all morning work out. after getting ready, walking to bart, barting, walking to ali's, running to the bank, it was 9am and we were off. (ps, i just signed my lease for a new place in the city, with any luck, this lame commuting will be over) but i digress...

the run was great, i felt very good. the weather was mild and dry, slightly humid. i'm still running on flat grounds, which i know- i need to start doing some hill work outs -- soon... i felt as good as i could for bumping up to 7 miles so quickly, slightly weak ankles and some lower back pain. my ankles were still sore on monday! i was a little dissappointed in myself for running so slow, but i think i more fixed on the number rather then my body. i really dont think i could've run much faster!

after that, we headed into safeway for my favorite post excercise recovery drink: CHOCOLATE SOY MILK!! sooo good. drank about 2 cups then headed in the gym for foam rolling, stretching and abs... i ran in my bathing suit, so i stripped down and hit the water.

yikes - i was so slow in the pool. before i got in the water, rinsed off in the cold shower, thinking it would help aclimate me to the cool pool water--it didnt. my body was not happy with the idea of another workout! i tried unaffectively to work through it, but my mind wouldnt let me finish. weak mental toughness! we did do a great kick set of butterfly and reverse butterfly kick... my abs are still sore!!

in other news, my new wetsuit showed up monday night, i tried it on and it fits! in time for the stanford race on saturday! :)

tonight is the jimmy eat world show (they are playing the 1999 album Clarity in its entirety, im hoping that i can hit the pool for a swim or maybe a run before the show) also, i started my new assignment, ill be in san francisco mon, thurs, fri and in san jose tues/wed. i need to come up with a new routine quick! lots of options ... but nothing presenting itself as of right now...

good things happen to those that wait, or two flats, one ride

Bike - 25 miles

Rock Climbing - 2.5 hours

first things first -- woke up at 640 thinking it was 657 and ate breakfast. i was pumped for my ride with i decided that it should not be the fruit stand ride, but instead the grizzly peak, ride to work, barn, san pablo ride (a double varitant of last saturdays ride: more miles, less climbs) i got over to chris and brandon's place, but find out that he has a flat in the rear wheel. bummer1. no big deal, chris changed the tire at a pretty good speed, and we were off. oh by the way (btw) it was cold.. note to self: 8am is still cold)

we were off, up grizzly peak, making good time, life is dandy, but towards our approach of orinda (17 miles in) i notice that im pretty tired, and cold. we were laughing that stopping and getting on bart at layfette would be an amazing idea, but decided we needed the workout.

as luck would have it, on heart attack hill (affectionately named for its super steep grade and quick accent) i lead, while chris was only 15 meters behind me ... this was maybe 50 meters from the top ... i cruised down the steep, quick decline, cross the street and think about how tired i am... and chris doesnt follow. now i cant see him, because im across the street and his up a hill, but im waiting... then finally i see him walking down the hill with his bike, bummer2

we bart back, i shower, call my brother wondering how their flight is coming.... oh wait ... its next week!!!  bahhhhhhhhhhhh ...yeah, so i took a vacation day so i could ride and go to nordstrom rack, target and rei ... smooth

let me tell you how i impulse buy: i bought 1 dry erase calendar board (to keep track of planned workouts versus actual, yeah lame i know), markers, eraser, ironing board (lame i know), drying rack (prolly couldve stopped after the calendar board)

so i decided since i have the night off, i might as well go to the rock gym with some friends ... so tonight, im headed to ironworks. never been, but i guess its  a rock gym that also has some cool things like yoga and climbing classes. ill let everyone know.

tomorrow im going for a 7 mile run with my friend ali ... the one who came up with the brilliant idea all those 500s earlier this week ... great, oh then we are swimming! yay!

mt diablo in the east bay, i want to climb this in a few months!

right by bart ... looked cool
guess who got new handle bar tape!!!

last but not least ... my old neighbor chris requested pictures of the canopy ... doesnt convey the serenity....

Rest Day?

Wednesday Feb 25-
SPIN - 55min
Run - 5.2 - 46min43s

Thursday Feb 26
Recovery Jog - 25-30min

Yesterday we were a tad late to spin class, missing the warm up. i dont like being late for workouts, i always feel rushed; however, the class drives me up the wall (crazy). in an effort to relay some frustrations with the class, im going to take a moment and reflect on the saying "if you dont have anything good to say, dont say anything at all"

things i look for in a spin class

• an instructor that is motivating, yet doesnt conduct 1way conversations in class
• an instructor that leads by example
• music that doesnt suck
• well ventilated room

i think thats positive? ehhh ... maybe?

niketown run club was great. nice flat 5.2 miles.. plus free food, bottled water, and luna bars! someone won a free pair of shoes! i felt pretty good and i started to push my tempo out of my comfort zone. hopefully this does three things: allows me to reduce chance of injury (running slower will do that), increase my endurance, increase my mental toughness. being able to excercise has been great, it always holds me accountable! lord knows i was beat tired yesterday.

with that said -- i am exhausted today, my legs are empty (possibly due to lack of stretching last night), i have no appetite and have been forcing myself to eat. which i hate. i actually got a goodnight sleep last night, almost 8 hours, which was way better then 4.45 hours i scored two nights ago. its my last day in walnut creek and as such, im going out to lunch with some coworkers to a japanese place ive come to fancy.

tonight, im going to take it easy, just a light 30 min jog and some stretching. then tomorrow morning -- FRUIT STAND RIDE -- almost 60 miles. im excited!! my mom and brother are coming to visit for the weekend, so the training sat/sun will be limited to runs. my brother claims he isnt interested in running ... all i know is that he at risk of losing next years turket trot and the title of house champion (okay, probably not)

bonus workout!

Yoga - 1hr
Swim - 3K

Yoga yesterday was great ... we focused on shoulders ... which of course sucked (i have weak shoulders from high school swimming) ... which was of course good for me .. i think

i've never thought of yoga as body part specific work out, i must be too green :) but it was great, my shoulders, back, traps and tris are def feeling it and i very much enjoyed the 5 min mini-meditation at the end. the class was itself was not too crowded, which was nice ... and i realized that i need to keep my shoulder blades down in back in almost all poses and probably in all facets of life

a while ago, i asked my mom (a yoga teacher!) what she thought of me enrolling in a course specific to "yoga for runners." a few days later she came back with the advice "dont waste your money" or something like that ... below is a video for a pose that ive come to enjoy called the pigeon ... its awesomely painful some days but always awesomely therapeutic




after yoga -- i got a call from my friend (and soon to be new neighbor) alison telling me that she took off of work for the night--

i had no excuse not to swim!

so we get to the pool around 9pm and its almost empty (score!) .. start talking and she suggests -- why just do 3- 500s, when we could do 6?!?

ugh ... my heart sunk, maybe my stomach too ... but i mean, i cant say, "sorry, im lame and that sounds too challenging, i might actually have to work out my comfort zone to do that workout," so of course my response was, "great" (dead panned, as i couldnt muster any enthusiasm)

the first 3 500x were nice, easy paced (maybe a tad descending tempo) but smooth, then we did my favorite recovery 500 (100 breast, 100 free, 100 breast, 100 free) followed by a 5 100 IMs (great pace, strong push the last one) and a 500 cool down

as i became more tired, i could feel my stroke deteriorate and my lung capacity hate me -- my flip turns did not yield strong streams like i have remembered from previous years or as they will in the future. needless to say, my worsened stroke aggravated my right shoulder. today it feels fine, and as my strength, stamina and lung capacity improves, ill be fine -- oh yeah, and i should prolly lift more then once a week :/

in other news, it was nice to have a evening of pleasant weather, the walk home at 11ish / 12ish was enjoyable, clean, pure

rain run

run - 5miles

yesterday i ran in the rain for the first time in a l o n g time -- the weather was great, not too cold, but a little humid towards the end. misty and light drizzle for the first 2.25 miles. i even had droplets collecting on my eyelashes! my olfactory senses took me back during the first part of the run to years ago when i used to run in the rain, it was a lot fun -- crazy how some of the smells of norcal remind me of the smells of ohio

i went during lunch and tried a new route out in walnut creek. it took about 43 min, therefore it was about 8.5 min/miles ...the air was relatively clean, enhanced by the rain, except for an area by an onramp that was a little smoggy.. gross... the run itself was relatively flat, save for small hill at the end. i felt pretty good, but def got tired in the last mile.

im pretty nervous for the the sprint that is next weekend. even though the run portion is only 3.1 miles, im anxious to see how "in shape" im going to be for it after the swim and bike. the only comfort i have is that i scheduled this race more as a wake-up call and progress report for the longer races ahead ... oh yeah, and its supposed to be fun!

barn ride/3 bears & swim weekend

Saturday - ~50 mile bike
Sunday - 2000

This was the first Saturday/Sunday in about 3 that was dry ... everyone was excited to get on the road.

The ride started with what has become our normal ascent into Moraga by way of Grizzly Peak. it took me forever to get up grizzly, my legs were tired, i was tired, still not quite 100% from the cold i couldnt get over. Once we peaked at grizzly, we dropped down the other side, a real cool downhill that rides under various canopies. Cool, dark, eerily magical? From there we road to city streets through Lafayette .. then we cut into a rural area of the east bay ... towards what we have labeled the "barn ride" .. cool ride that includes riding through the country side with cattle and horses and then a sole climb up to a barn then an amazing decline .. i got up to 43mph downhill! brandon pointed out later that even though we envision a barn at the summit of the climb -- there is no barn .. weird

We then rode 3 bears, which as one can guess -- is 3 climbs: mama, papa and baby (cute i know) and then crossed over to wildcat canyon which is a little more challenging then going over grizzly from the other berkeley side which we started. i was really happy with my climbs on the barn, 3 bears and wildcat -- the below pictures are from the last climb on 3 bears...

chris and brandon

country side

take 2

sunday i worked for about 3 hours and made just under a hundred bucks .. none of which i ever saved (see tim barry - Avoiding Catatonic Surrender)

-- but i got cut at 8 and headed over to the pool! that worked out great. i had my own lane for about 95% of the workout ..
500 free
10x50 on a minute
100 free, 100 breast, 100 free, 100 breast, 100 free
200 free, 100 breast, 200 free

felt great in the pool, i can tell that im getting my strength back .. it was great. also, my flip turns last night were much more fluid, as with my breathing... it just felt nice